Encyclopedia subject

20th-century essayists

358 published records, arranged alphabetically. Each entry is published only where a named source supports it.

Abel PosseAuthor · BooksAbel Parentini Posse (7 January 1934 – 14 April 2023) was an Argentine novelist, essayist, poet, career diplomat, and politician.
Adam WażykAuthor · BooksAdam Ważyk born Ajzyk Wagman (17 November 1905 – 13 August 1982) was a Polish poet, essayist and writer born to a Jewish family in Warsaw.
Adam ZagajewskiAuthor · BooksAdam Zagajewski (21 June 1945 – 21 March 2021) was a Polish poet, novelist, translator, and essayist.
Adam ZamoyskiAuthor · BooksAdam Zamoyski (born 11 January 1949) is a Polish-British historian and author.[1]
Adrienne RichAuthor · BooksAdrienne Cecile Rich (May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist.
Ag ApolloniAuthor · BooksAg Apolloni (language; born 13 June 1982) is an Albanian writer, poet, playwright, essayist, and scholar. He is a professor at the University of Prishtina, Kosovo.
Ágnes HellerAuthor · BooksÁgnes Heller (12 May 1929 – 19 July 2019) was a Hungarian philosopher and lecturer.
Agustín Fernández MalloAuthor · BooksIllustration — Agustín Fernández Mallo presenting his book Nocilla Experience in Barcelona.
Aisha Abd al-RahmanAuthor · BooksAisha Abd al-Rahman (Arabic: عائشة عبد الرحمن; November 18, 1913 – 1 December 1998) (ʻĀʾishah ʻAbd al-Raḥman) was an Egyptian author, editor and professor of literature who published under…
Alain GrandboisAuthor · BooksAlain Grandbois, (May 25, 1900 – March 18, 1975) was a Canadian Quebecer poet, considered the first great modern one.
Albert CamusAuthor · BooksAlbert Camus (kam-OO; French: [albɛʁ kamy]; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, novelist, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist.
Alberto Asor RosaAuthor · BooksAlberto Asor Rosa (23 September 1933 – 21 December 2022) was an Italian literary critic, historian, and politician, born in Rome.
Alberto BlancoAuthor · BooksIllustration — Alberto Blanco, Mexican Poet
Alejo CarpanterAuthor · BooksAlejo Carpentier y Valmont (karpanˈtje; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its…
Aleš ŠtegerAuthor · BooksAleš Šteger (born 31 May 1973) is a Slovene poet, writer, translator and editor. Aleš belongs to a generation of writers that started to publish right after the fall of Yugoslavia.
Alfred BrendelPerson · Music memorabiliaAlfred Brendel (5 January 1931 – 17 June 2025) was a Czech-born Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer and lecturer, based in London.
Alfredo BosiAuthor · BooksAlfredo Bosi (26 August 1936 – 7 April 2021) was a Brazilian historian, literary critic, and professor.
Alfredo MarquerieAuthor · BooksAlfredo Marqueríe (17 January 1907 - 31 July 1974) was a Spanish writer who received his doctorate in Jurisprudence in 1928, but it was through his passion for literature that he made his…
Ali ShariatiAuthor · BooksAli Shariati Mazinani (23November 193318June 1977) was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist who specialised in the sociology of religion.
Alice Becker-HoAuthor · BooksAlice Becker-Ho, also known as Alice Debord (born August 6, 1941), is a Chinese-born French intellectual closely associated with the Situationist International.
Alice MillerArtist · PaintingsAlice Miller was a French, Swiss and Polish psychologist, sociologist, painter, essayist, psychotherapist and writer (1923–2010). She was born in Lviv and died in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
Alojz IhanAuthor · BooksAlojz Ihan (23 July 1961 – 10 March 2026) was a Slovenian doctor who was a specialist in medical microbiology and immunology.
Alojz RebulaAuthor · BooksAlojz Rebula (June 21, 1924 – October 23, 2018) was a Slovene writer, playwright, essayist, and translator, and a prominent member of the Slovene minority in Italy.
Amiri BarakaAuthor · BooksAmiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays,…
Amit ChaudhuriAuthor · BooksAmit Chaudhuri (born 15 May 1962) is a novelist, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, singer, and music composer from India.
Amos OzAuthor · BooksAmos Oz (born Amos Klausner (עמוס קלוזנר); 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual.
Amy TanAuthor · BooksAmy Ruth Tan (born February 19, 1952) is an American author best known for her novel The Joy Luck Club (1989), which was adapted into a 1993 film.
Ana BlandianaAuthor · BooksAna Blandiana (ˈana blandiˈana; pen name of Otilia Valeria Coman; born 25 March 1942) is a Romanian poet, essayist, and political figure.
Andrée A. MichaudAuthor · BooksAndrée A. Michaud (born November 12, 1957) is a Canadian novelist and playwright from Quebec.
Ángel RamaAuthor · BooksÁngel A. Rama (ˈaŋxel rama; April 30, 1926November 27, 1983) was a Uruguayan writer, academic, and literary critic, known for his work on modernismo and for his theorization of the concept…
Anita NairAuthor · BooksAnita Nair (born 26 January 1966) is an Indian novelist who writes her books in English. She is best known for her novels A Better Man, Mistress, and Lessons in Forgetting.
Anne EnrightPerson · Film memorabiliaAnne Teresa Enright (born 11 October 1962) is an Irish writer. The first Laureate for Irish Fiction (2015–2018) and winner of the Man Booker Prize (2007), she has published eight novels,…
Anne SimpsonAuthor · BooksAnne Simpson (born 1956) is a Canadian poet, novelist, artist and essayist. She was a recipient of the Griffin Poetry Prize.
Antonio AltarribaArtist · Comics and comic artAntonio Altarriba Ordóñez (born 1952 in Zaragoza) is a Spanish essayist, novelist, critic and comics and television writer.
Armand RobinAuthor · BooksArmand Robin (January 19, 1912 – March 29, 1961) was a French poet, translator, and journalist.
Arthur MillerAuthor · BooksArthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright and essayist in the 20th-century American theater.
Arundhati RoyAuthor · BooksSuzanna Arundhati Roy (orundʱoti rae̯; born 24 November 1961)[4] is an Indian author best known for her novel The God of Small Things (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997…
Audre LordeAuthor · BooksAudre Lorde (born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, intersectional feminist, poet, and civil rights activist.
Augusto MeyerAuthor · BooksAugusto Meyer (born in Porto Alegre on January 24, 1902; died in Rio de Janeiro on July 10, 1970) was a Brazilian poet, journalist, literary critic, and folklorist.
Austin WrightAuthor · BooksAustin McGiffert Wright (1922 – April 23, 2003) was an American novelist, literary critic and professor emeritus of English at the University of Cincinnati.
Axel CortiPerson · Film memorabiliaAxel Corti (born Axel Fuhrmanns; 7 May 1933 – 29 December 1993) was an Austrian screenwriter, film director and radio host.
Ayn RandAuthor · BooksAlice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand, was a Russian-American writer and philosopher.
Baldur RagnarssonAuthor · BooksBaldur Ragnarsson (25 August 1930 – 25 December 2018) was an Icelandic poet and author of Esperanto works. He was a teacher and a superintendent of schools in Iceland.
Barbara KingsolverAuthor · BooksBarbara Ellen Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is an American novelist, essayist, and poet. Her widely known works include The Poisonwood Bible, the tale of a missionary family in the Congo;
Barry LopezPhotographer · PhotographyBarry Holstun Lopez (January 6, 1945 – December 25, 2020) was an American essayist, nature writer, and fiction writer whose work is known for its humanitarian and environmental concerns.
Bat Ye'orAuthor · BooksGisèle Littman (Orebi; born 1933), better known by her pen name Bat Ye'or (Daughter of the Nile), is an Egyptian-born, Jewish-British author, known for her promulgation of the Eurabia…
Ben LernerAuthor · BooksBenjamin S. Lerner (born February 4, 1979) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and critic.
Bernard DubourgAuthor · BooksIllustration — Bernard Dubourg
Bernard NoëlAuthor · BooksBernard Noël (19 November 1930 – 13 April 2021) was a French writer and poet. He received the Grand Prix national de la poésie (National Grand Prize of Poetry) in 1992, the Prix Robert…
Betsy WarlandAuthor · BooksBetsy Warland (born 1946) is a Canadian feminist writer of over a dozen books of poetry, creative nonfiction, and lyrical prose.
Birgitta TrotzigAuthor · BooksBirgitta Trotzig (11 September 1929 – 14 May 2011)[1] was a Swedish writer who was elected to the Swedish Academy in 1993.[2] She was one of Sweden's most celebrated authors, and wrote…
Borislav PekićAuthor · BooksBorislav Pekić (Борислав Пекић; 4 February 1930 – 2 July 1992) was a Serbian writer and political activist.
Botho StraussAuthor · BooksBotho Strauss (written as Botho Strauß) (born 2 December 1944) is a German playwright, novelist, and essayist.
Boualem SansalAuthor · BooksBoualem Sansal (Tamazight: Buɛlam Senṣal; Tifinagh: ⴱⵓⴰⵍⴰⵎ ⵙⴻⵏⵚⴰⵍ; bwalɛm sɑ̃sal; born 15 October 1944) is a French-Algerian author who writes in French.
Bruno VespaAuthor · BooksBruno Paolo Vespa (born 27 May 1944) is an Italian television and newspaper journalist.
Camilo José CelaAuthor · BooksCamilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquess of Iria Flavia (11 May 1916 – 17 January 2002) was a Spanish novelist, poet, story writer and essayist associated with the Generation of '36…
Carla Porta MusaAuthor · BooksCarla Porta Musa (15 March 1902 – 10 October 2012) was an Italian supercentenarian, essayist and poet.
Carlos BarralAuthor · BooksCarlos Barral i Agesta (1928–1989) was a Spanish poet, considered (along with Jaime Gil de Biedma) to be one of the greatest poets of the so-called generation of the 1950s.
Carmen Martín GaiteAuthor · BooksCarmen Martín Gaite (8 December 1925 – 23 July 2000) was a Spanish author who wrote many novels, short stories, screenplays, and essays across multiple genres.
Carol J. AdamsAuthor · BooksCarol J. Adams (born 1951) is an American writer, feminist, and animal rights advocate.
Charlotte MutsaersIllustrator · IllustrationCharlotte Jacoba Maria Mutsaers (ɕɑrˈlɔtə jaːˈkoːbaː maːˈrijaː ˈmʏtsaːrs; born 2 November 1942) is a Dutch painter, prose writer and essayist.
Christoph HeinAuthor · BooksChristoph Hein (German: [ˈkʁɪstɔf ˈhaɪn]; born 8 April 1944) is a German author and translator.
Cintio VitierAuthor · BooksCintio Vitier (September 25, 1921 – October 1, 2009) was a Cuban poet, essayist, and novelist.
Clarissa SlighEngraver · PrintsClarissa T. Sligh (born 1939) is an African-American book artist and photographer based in Asheville, North Carolina.
Claude PironAuthor · BooksClaude Piron, also known by the pseudonym Johán Valano, was a Swiss psychologist, Esperantist, translator, and writer.
Colm TóibínAuthor · BooksColm Tóibín (lang; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet.
Constantin NoicaAuthor · BooksConstantin Noica (– 4 December 1987) was a Romanian philosopher, essayist, and poet.
Czesław MiłoszAuthor · BooksCzesław Miłosz (USalso; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat.
Daniel-RopsAuthor · BooksHenri Jules Charles Petiot (19 January 1901 – 27 July 1965), known by the pen name Henri Daniel-Rops, was a French Catholic writer and historian.
Davide RondoniAuthor · Books
Déborah HeisslerAuthor · BooksDeborah Heissler (born 5 May 1976 in Mulhouse, France) is a contemporary French author.
Denis de RougemontAuthor · BooksGraduate Institute of European Studies, University of Geneva
Diane WakoskiEngraver · PrintsDiane Wakoski (born August 3, 1937) is an American poet. Wakoski is primarily associated with the deep image poets, as well as the confessional and Beat poets of the 1960s.
Don DeLilloAuthor · BooksDonald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist.
Drago JančarAuthor · BooksDrago Jančar (pron; born 13 April 1948) is a Slovenian writer, playwright and essayist. Jančar is one of the best-known contemporary Slovene writers.
Dževad KarahasanAuthor · BooksDževad Karahasan (25 January 1953 – 19 May 2023) was a Bosnian writer, essayist and philosopher. Karahasan was awarded the Herder Prize and Goethe Medal for his writings.
E. L. DoctorowAuthor · BooksEdgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, known for his historical fiction.
Eavan BolandAuthor · BooksEavan Aisling Boland (24 September 1944 – 27 April 2020) was an Irish poet, author, and professor. She was a professor at Stanford University, where she had taught from 1996.
Ebba HaslundAuthor · BooksEbba Margareta Haslund Halvorsen (12 August 1917 – 10 July 2009) was an American-Norwegian novelist, writer of short stories, playwright, essayist, children's writer, literary critic, radio…
Eduardas MieželaitisAuthor · BooksEduardas Mieželaitis (3 October 1919 – 6 June 1997) was a Lithuanian Soviet poet, translator, essayist and public figure. In 1974 he was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labour.
Eduardo GaleanoAuthor · BooksEduardo Germán María Hughes Galeano (lang; 3 September 1940 – 13 April 2015) was a Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist considered, among other things, "a literary giant of the Latin…
Eduardo LourençoAuthor · BooksEduardo Lourenço de Faria (23 May 1923 – 1 December 2020), best known as Eduardo Lourenço, was a Portuguese essayist, professor, critic, philosopher and writer.
Edvard KocbekAuthor · BooksEdvard Kocbek (pron) (27 September 1904 – 3 November 1981) was a Slovenian Yugoslav poet, writer, essayist, translator, member of Christian Socialists in the Liberation Front of the Slovene…
Edward DahlbergAuthor · BooksEdward Dahlberg (July 22, 1900 – February 27, 1977) was an American novelist, essayist, and autobiographer.
Élisabeth VonarburgAuthor · BooksÉlisabeth Vonarburg (born 5 August 1947) is a science fiction writer.
Elizabeth BishopAuthor · BooksElizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American poet and short-story writer.
Els de GroenAuthor · BooksElly de Groen-Kouwenhoven (Kouwenhoven; 23 December 1949 – 19 October 2025), generally known as Els de Groen, was a Dutch author and politician, who served as a Member of the European…
Enrico TestaAuthor · BooksEnrico Testa (born 1956) is an Italian poet. He works as a professor of Italian studies at the University of Genova.
Enrique Anderson ImbertAuthor · BooksEnrique Anderson Imbert (February 12, 1910 – December 6, 2000) was an Argentine novelist, short-story writer and literary critic.
Enrique KrauzeAuthor · BooksEnrique Krauze Kleinbort (born 16 September 1947) is a Mexican historian, essayist, editor, and entrepreneur.
Enzo MariArtist · SculptureEnzo Mari (27 April 1932 – 19 October 2020) was an Italian modernist artist and furniture designer who is known to have influenced many generations of industrial designers.
Enzo SicilianoPerson · Film memorabiliaEnzo Siciliano (27 May 1934 – 9 June 2006) was an Italian writer, playwright, literary critic and intellectual.
Erich FriedAuthor · BooksErich Fried (6 May 1921 – 22 November 1988) was an Austrian-born poet, writer, and translator.
Erika MannAuthor · BooksErika Julia Hedwig Mann (9 November 1905 – 27 August 1969) was a German actress and writer, daughter of the novelist Thomas Mann.
Erín MoureAuthor · BooksErín Moure (born 1955 in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian poet and translator with eighteen books of poetry, a co-authored book of poetry, a volume of essays, a book of articles on…
Ernesto SabatoArtist · PaintingsErnesto Sabato (lang; June 24, 1911 – April 30, 2011) was an Argentine novelist, essayist, painter, and physicist.
Erwin AxerPerson · Film memorabiliaErwin Axer (1 January 1917 – 5 August 2012) was a Polish theatre director, writer and university professor.
Eunice OdioAuthor · BooksEunice Odio (pseudonym, Catalina Mariel; October 18, 1919 – March 23, 1974) was a prominent Costa Rican poet known for her diverse body of work, including articles, essays, reflections,…
Évelyne TrouillotAuthor · BooksÉvelyne Trouillot (born January 2, 1954) is a Haitian author, writing in French and Creole.
Fabio CarpiPerson · Film memorabiliaFabio Carpi (19 January 1925 – 26 December 2018) was an Italian director, screenwriter, and author.
Fabrice HadjadjAuthor · BooksHadjadj was born in Nanterre to Jewish parents of Tunisian heritage. In his teens he was an atheist and anarchist, and he maintained a nihilistic attitude for most of
Fazil IskanderAuthor · BooksFazil Abdulovich Iskander (6 March 1929 – 31 July 2016) was a Soviet and Russian writer and poet known in the former Soviet Union for his descriptions of Caucasian life.
Fernanda PivanoAuthor · BooksIllustration — Fernanda Pivano in 2006
Fernando del PasoArtist · PaintingsFernando del Paso Morante (1 April 1935 – 14 November 2018) was a Mexican novelist, essayist, and poet.
Fernando Goncalves NamoraAuthor · BooksFernando Gonçalves Namora (15 April 1919 – 31 January 1989) was a Portuguese writer and medical doctor. Namora was born in Condeixa-a-Nova, Coimbra District and died in Lisbon, Portugal.
Flannery O'ConnorAuthor · BooksMary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist.
Fran HoskenDesigner · Modern designIllustration — Fran Hosken ca.
Francisco UmbralAuthor · Books
Franco LoiAuthor · BooksFranco Loi (21 January 1930 – 4 January 2021) was an Italian poet, writer and essayist.
Franco PuriniDesigner · DesignFranco Purini, born as Francesco Purini (Isola del Liri, 9 November 1941), is an Italian architect, essayist, and university professor.
François ChengAuthor · Books
Fredric JamesonAuthor · BooksFredric Ruff Jameson (April 14, 1934 – September 22, 2024) was an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist.
Fumi HiranoPerson · Film memorabiliaFumi Hirano is a Japanese actress, singer, voice actress, narrator, radio personality, and essayist.
Gabriel CelayaAuthor · BooksGabriel Celaya (full name: Rafael Gabriel Juan Múgica Celaya Leceta; March 18, 1911, in Hernani, Gipuzkoa – April 18, 1991, in Madrid) was a Spanish poet.
Gennaro SangiulianoAuthor · BooksGennaro Sangiuliano (born 6 June 1962) is an Italian journalist, writer, and politician who served as Minister of Culture in the Meloni Cabinet.
Gilles ClémentDesigner · Modern designGilles Clément (ʒil klemɑ̃; born in Argenton-sur-Creuse, Indre, France in 1943), is a French gardener, garden designer, botanist, entomologist and writer.
Gilles JacobPerson · Film memorabiliaGilles Jacob (born 22 June 1930) is a French film critic and essayist who served as president of the Cannes Film Festival between 2001 and 2014.
Gioconda BelliAuthor · BooksGioconda Belli Pereira (born December 9, 1948) is a Nicaraguan-born novelist and poet known for her contributions to Nicaraguan literature.
Giorgi KekelidzeAuthor · BooksGiorgi Kekelidze (გიორგი კეკელიძე; born April 10, 1984) is a Georgian poet, essayist and the founder of the first Georgian digital library, lib.ge.
Gloria SteinemAuthor · BooksShe was born in Toledo.

Related subjects

Essayists592
19th-century essayists194
American essayists130
French essayists86
British essayists44
Spanish essayists34
18th-century essayists30
Essayists from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland30
Japanese essayists26
German essayists26
Italian essayists23
Polish essayists20

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